Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to rubber compositions and more particularly, to rubber compositions having low resin cross-linking, methods for making them and articles made from such rubber compositions.
Description of the Related Art
Tires and other articles that are made of rubber are manufactured from rubber compositions that include rubber, e.g., natural rubber, synthetic rubber or combinations thereof, as well as fillers, plasticizers, vulcanizing agents and other chemicals that improve the physical characteristics of the cured rubber composition. One class of materials that may be added to the rubber compositions is resin.
Resins are typically (but not always) nonvolatile, solid organic substances that are produced naturally by plants or synthetically from petrochemicals or other sources of hydrocarbon materials. As used in rubber compositions, resins may be classified as either reinforcing resins or as plasticizing resins. Plasticizing resins are added to a rubber composition to improve the plasticity or workability of a rubber composition. They are often added as a substitute for or in addition to a processing oil and are known to improve the resulting physical characteristics of the cured rubber composition.
Reinforcing resins are added to a rubber composition to increase the rigidity of the cured rubber composition. These reinforcing resins intermix with the rubber polymer chains and, when reacted with a linking agent or with each other, form a three-dimensional network that improves the physical characteristics of the cured rubber composition. Many of these resins are classified as methylene acceptor/donor systems that react together to generate a three-dimensional reinforcing resin network by a condensation reaction.
In addition to resins, other additives are known to be added to rubber compositions to improve their physical properties, such additives including antioxidants, antiozonants, anti-reversion agents and so forth. Such additives are well known in the rubber industry.